fixed duration and fixed units

[mcm]

hi i just started working on project a few days ago and im still confused on
why my duration and start/finish dates keep changing. im working in gantt
chart and i need it to be calendar days so i changed it to 24 hours (not sure
if that is right). however when i enter a task that is 66 days, the start
date is correct but the finish date goes past the date i need it to end. so i
started reading about the fixed durations and fixed units thinking that had
something to do with it but im still confused.how do i need to go about this?

 

[davegb]

hi i just started working on project a few days ago and im still confused on
why my duration and start/finish dates keep changing. im working in gantt
chart and i need it to be calendar days so i changed it to 24 hours (not sure
if that is right). however when i enter a task that is 66 days, the start
date is correct but the finish date goes past the date i need it to end. so i
started reading about the fixed durations and fixed units thinking that had
something to do with it but im still confused.how do i need to go about this?

The Task Type (Fixed Work, Units, Duration) only has any affect when
you are assigning resources. More likely, your problem has to do with
your overall approach. It sounds like you changed the working day to be
24 hrs per day? If so, this will get you in trouble unless you're
project is actually being worked on 24h/day. If not, you should go back
to normal work days. If, by "calendar" days, you mean that weekends are
workdays, you should go to your Standard calendar (Tools, Change
Working Time) and make weekends into working days, but with "normal"
hours (8am to 5pm). Then if you enter a task of 66 days, it will
include weekends.

I strongly advise you to find a competant Project instructor and take a
2 day beginner class (or more) to get some help starting out. Project
is not intuitive like Excel or Word. In particular, there is an
underlying theory called "Critical Path Method" scheduling that Project
is designed to do. While you can create schedules without using CPM,
you'll find yourself in a quagmire trying to get what you want and
ending up with a lot less than what you're expecting for a lot more
effort than it's worth. CPM is not difficult, it just takes a couple of
hours to figure out. Once you understand that, a lot of things about
the software make more sense.

If you can find an instructor who understands all this, and take the
class, it'll save you months of struggle and frustration, I guarantee.

Hope this helps in your world.

 

[mcm]

davegb, thank you so much for your help. that worked exactly like i wanted.
i really really appreciate it! thanks again.
mcm